Cape Town (Day 48)
Cape Town seemed like the perfect city for an extended stay in Africa. We wanted to slow down, cook at home, get in more homeschool, etc. We rented an AirBNB for 3 weeks, and it felt so nice to relax a bit. We also had plenty of time to experience so much in this amazing city!
Cape Town has to be one of the most beautiful large cities in the world, with dramatic mountains descending down to sandy beaches — and even wild penguins! It also also a land of stark contrasts, with a moving history and an optimistic present.
It was also really fun to have Cece and Grantastic (Ashley’s parents) come and stay with us to explore the city!
There is so much natural beauty in Cape Town – you almost don’t know where to start! We loved exploring the Cape Peninsula, with its parks, beaches, great hikes, and more.
Boulders Beach has giant boulders for kids to climb — and plenty of penguins.
We did a few dramatic hikes on Cape Point, a peninsula that juts out into the sea at the southwestern tip of Africa.
Africa is so full of animals that the Cape Point hiking trails even have wild baboons that come right over to you.
It turns out that the main reason the baboons come over is that they want to steal your food! Here, a baboon goes through a backpack that someone left on the trail while they tried to take a photo. We were impressed that the baboon could open the backpack and even the yogurt container inside!
On our way out, we found another baboon trying to make a getaway with a french baguette.
We also saw wild ostriches – including ostrich babies!
One fun fact: despite the saying, ostriches do actually not put their head in the sand.
On our way back, we drove Chapmans Peak Drive, one of the prettiest drives in the world. (If you look carefully, you can see the road cut into that mountain.)
*****
TABLE MOUNTAIN
We had a great visit to Kirstenbosch, a botanical garden full of local plants such as fynbos and protea.
Another day, we took a gondola up to the top of Table Mountain and hiked around.
We also hiked nearby Lions Head, with some pretty amazing views for a city. We wish Mount Beacon Hill had this view!
On a bit of a whim, we both decided to go paragliding! Here is Jamie taking off.
*****
KID AWESOMENESS
Cape Town also had a seemingly endless supply of unusual kid activities. What these activities lacked in natural and historical significance, they made up for in pure Kid Awesomeness!
The biggest hit was probably a group of little animal sanctuaries (sort of like zoos) where you see exotic animals up close.
Scratch Patch - a place where kids can dig for gems! (Which are really just colorful rocks.). The kids enjoyed it so much, we went 3 times. At the end, Hazel declared, “Dad, I think I love you even more than Pat Taffe now!”
The kids also adored the outdoor toboggan park. Hugh showed his wild side, wanting to go down the whole way with no brakes! Here is Hazel speeding down.
3D glow in the dark mini-golf !
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A BREAK
At the end of our time in Cape Town, Cece and Grantastic took the kids for a farm stay at an organic farm. This let us go to the winelands for a “vacation from our vacation.” Thank you Cece and Grantastic!
